The_Rambler_1972-03-23

              studentpublicationatsuatcfarmingdale
SIAIU UNIVtKifllY
D0LLE8E OF TECHNOUMV
lAliitlSDAlJE. H* J 1 7 3 J
OBRMW/SERIAIS OBT. ^
vol 3 3 no. 15
Legalization of Marijuana
by Maida Oringher
If the bill recently introduced in
the New York Assembly by
Franz Leichter (Dem.-Lib.~
Manhattan) should pass, anyone
over eighteen could buy a pack of
marijuana cigarettes at his local
liquor store.
The bill is not expected to get
out of the Committee on Govern-nwntal
Operations this year be-cause,
according to Leichter, of
the conservatives. But the As-semblyman
is optimistic for the
future. "More and more people
see the similarity between the
illegality of marijuana and the
prohibition of liquor," Leichter
told this reporter at a recent
interview. "Moat are beginning to
realize that their ideas about the
h«rmfuln«ss of marijuana are
merely msrths." *
From a poll circulated in his
district in 1970, Leichter found
that 65% of his constituency fa-vored
the legalization of mari-juana.
Leichter expects even
greater support for his bill after
results are tal. kI from this years
questionnaire. Public opinion
from his predominantly liberal
Manhattan district, however, will
not be strong enough to effect
legislative mea.sures this year.
Nixon Commission
The National Commi.s.sion on
Marijuana and Drug Abu.se-13
Nixon appointees"ha.s prepared a
formal report due for release ob
March 22. The report is expected
to recommend abolition of all
criminal penalties for private use
and possession of marijuana.
Leichter pointed out that Nixon
chose the n;embers of the pre-dominately
conservative Com-mission
nikh the idea that they
would keep penalties for posses-sion
of marijuana, "but when the
panel looked at the facts they saw
that there was no substance to the
myths surrounding the drug."
Last year Leichter unsuccessful-ly
sought passage of a bill in the
Assembly which provifled for a
system of control similar to that
which applies to alcohol. He has
introduced the same bill thb year
with some modifications.
State Tax on Grass
The l a t ^ version calls for the
creation of a State Marijuana Au-thority
which would "license and
regulate growers, producers, man-ufacturers,
and distributors of
marijuana." The Authority would
"require a warning on any pack-age
or container of marijuana re-garding
possible ill effects on the
health of the user."
Marijuana would be sold at retail
only in licensed liquor stores and
be subject t o all present rules and
regulations pertaining to such
stores, according t o Leichter's bill.
The bill stipulates that no one
under 18 would be allowed t o buy
marijuana, and it would bar adver-tising
of the product.
" T h e price of a pack of mari-juana
cigarettes would
blished by the 'working market ,
said Leichter. The bill also pro-vides
for a stale tax to be levied
according to a standard to be
estabHshed by th' Authority.
Leichter said t' at there may be
truth to the rumor that some
cigarette com,, tv^i''-. n-y already
begun to set •»' ^ ,in?»nu-facture
marijuana. "It wouiu be
something less dangerous than
what they manufacture now," he
said.
Half-HMrted Approach
At a press conference held sever-al
weeks ago, Leichter "strongly
rejected the half-hearted ap-proach"
taken by the New York
Temporary Commission, headed
by AaaemblynMn Chester R.
Hardt (R., Amherst). A biH intro-duced
by Hardt docs not elimin-.
ate penalties for possession of
marijuana. Instead it provides that
possession of up to ^ ounce of
marijuana should receive a maxi-mum
sentence of now more than
three months, the term for a Class
B misdemeanor. At present such
an offense is a class A misdemean-or,
carrying a maximum sentence
of t>ne year. Leichter stated, "the
majority, proposal of the Com-mission
to reduce penalties for
most use is an ineffective and
illogical response to the wide-spread
consumption of marijuana
in New York State."
continued on page 2
graphic courtesy of Th0 Spectrum
Harsh Laws Undergo Cftonge
••/n Louisiana recently, a man was sentenced to 50 years in prison
for selling a match box of marijuana to an undercover agent.
"In California in 1968, one-fourth of all felony arrests were for
marijuana crimes, netting a total of more_ than 50,000 persons; the
state spent about $72 million enforcing the laws.
"In Minnesota, a youth was given an indeterminate 20-year
maximum sentence for possession of 1/2800 of an ounce of
marijuana: police had to vacuum the lining of his jacket to get it.
"In Michigan a few years ago, two undercover policemen spent
several months cultivating the friendship of a local "hippy" poet,
then asked him for some marijuana; when he gave them two
cigarettes, he was arrested, convicted of "possessing" and
"dispensing," and originally faced 40 years, many times more than
the minimum sentence in that state for any crime except first-degree
murder. The sentence was reduced on appeal to years, without
parole.
-In Ohio, a young couple received 20 to 40 years for selling $5
worth of marijuana to a neighbor; one of the judges who sentenced
them said, "they're providing a lesson for others," and the shenff
who arrested them thought the sentence wasn't stiff enough.
In some parts of the United States, it is possible to be sentenced to
5 years, 10 years, or even life in prison; 5 years in solitary
conflnement; or a $20,000 fine on a first offense for simple
possession of any quantity of marijuana. The sale of a marijuana
cigarette to a minor could mean 40 years in prison, or a life with no
possiblity of parole, or even death.
continuad on pag* 2